An Investigation on Psychological Development in Mild Mentally Retarded Children

This research aims to explain some characteristics of mild mental retardation through studying variables of operational capacity and moral judgment. To achieve this goal, 60 children (30 boys & 30 girls) with mild mental retardation were selected through systematic sampling method. All subjects were students of third grade in north educational districts of Tehran. They were assessed utilizing clinical methods, operational tests and moral judgment stories. Indexes of descriptive statistics, comparison of means for the two genders and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to analyze the obtained data. The results indicated that, mentally retarded children, acquire the assessed concepts in a higher chronological age in comparison with their normal peers. Their success in this domain decreases with the increase of chronological age. In other words, they lag in acquisition of these concepts. Mentally retarded children's delay and inertia lead to their failure in operational capacity, and thus defective balance in this period. Only a few of these children are able to acquire the standards of this quality of development, this condition is not characterized by dissociation between aspects of moral judgment and operational capacity. These aspects have a parallel development and there is no remarkable difference between two sexes in these domains.